在线国产一区二区_成人黄色片在线观看_国产成人免费_日韩精品免费在线视频_亚洲精品美女久久_欧美一级免费在线观看

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Culture
Home / Culture / Music and Theater

Wing Chun wows London audiences with magical moves

Dance, martial arts combine in spectacular stage show

By Julian Shea in London | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2024-09-02 23:54
Share
Share - WeChat
Performers from the Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theater company take a bow after the UK premiere of Wing Chun at London's Sadler's Wells theater on Aug 30. GUO JINBIAO FOR CHINA DAILY

The worlds of dance and martial arts may not have the most obvious crossover but lovers of both art forms will head to Sadler's Wells dance theater in north London this week to see the Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theater company put on a show combining them to spectacular effect, Wing Chun.

The production combines dance and martial arts and tells the tale of the legendary martial arts master Yip Man. ZHOU HONGSHENG FOR CHINA DAILY

The show's two-stranded storyline tells the tale of legendary martial arts master Yip Man, and also a film being made about his life.

The first half is mainly dance, with brief flashes of martial arts, which take center stage in the second half, showcasing the skills of China's unique cultural calling card that is so instantly recognized and widely admired around the world.

Dancers perform during the UK premiere of Wing Chun at London's Sadler's Wells theater on Aug 30. ZHOU HONGSHENG FOR CHINA DAILY

There are also passing references to the enduring influence of kung fu on popular culture in movies such as The Matrix.

There are set to be 12 performances in London, running until Sept 7, and then in October the company will perform four shows in Paris.

Wing Chun made its domestic debut in December 2022, before its first overseas visit, to Singapore in September 2023, and its 200th performance will take place during the London run.

Zheng Zeguang, China's ambassador to the United Kingdom, speaks at the UK premiere of the show on Aug 30. YAN KAI FOR CHINA DAILY

Before the London premiere, China's Ambassador to the United Kingdom Zheng Zeguang praised the show and its cast for increasing cultural understanding.

"I am sure (the performances) will help the UK audience better understand both Chinese martial arts and the philosophy and value championed by the practitioners," he said, while also praising Shenzhen for its growing role as a cultural hub. "Shenzhen is at the forefront of China's reform and opening-up and technological innovation. Nowadays, the city is also building itself into a leader of culture."

Zheng highlighted the city's role by mentioning how the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra had toured the UK this year, and he also drew attention to a recent visit to the city by the United Kingdom's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Zeng Xianglai, executive vice-president of the Shenzhen International Cultural Exchange Association, also praised the show as a cultural ambassador for the region and a traditional product showcased within it.

"Wing Chun showcases the allure of exquisite traditional Chinese culture through the harmonious fusion of two Chinese intangible cultural heritages: wing chun and gambiered Guangdong gauze," he said. "This innovative fusion not only bridges ancient Chinese kung fu and contemporary dance but also promotes mutual exchange, learning, and communication, transcending cultural boundaries."

The show has been well received, with The Guardian newspaper praising its "smart staging, sleek designs, awesome revolving sets, tricks of the light, a pulse-quickening soundtrack, uplifting storytainment, and above all exceptional dance, acrobatics and martial arts".

Hong Kong-born choreographer and opera director Caroline Chao called it "stunning ... beautiful, fluid, seamlessly combining dance with martial arts into one brilliant whole".

At a public question and answer session, the show's creative team and performers gave some insight into the lengths they went to putting it together.

"The biggest challenge was combining martial arts with dance," said Zhou Liya, who for the sixth time shares a joint choreography credit with collaborator Han Zhen. "Most dancers have foundation-level knowledge of martial arts, but that's not enough for a production like this, so they spent over a year learning different martial arts styles from the masters, so they were familiar with what was required."

In the main role of Yip Man, Chang Hongji is the central character in a uniformly top-class cast, and he revealed the extreme level of study that went into the demanding role.

"Wing chun says we must be diligent and practice, and that has informed my involvement in this production," he said. "I spent a lot of time researching my character and my moves, so when it looks like we are taking hard falls, we don't get injured. We spent many hours finding the right level of force to make the required impact without hurting ourselves."

With a cast-mate, he gave audience members a close-up view of the intricate moves used in fight scenes, which require hundreds of repetitions to look authentic, and Zhou Liya revealed "this needs so much practice that even in lunch breaks and at the start of the day when they greet each other, this is how they do it".

Wing Chun runs at the Sadler's Wells theater in London until Sept 7.

The audience at London's Sadler's Wells theater warmly applauds the show. GUO JINBIAO FOR CHINA DAILY

julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com

Most Popular
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 欧美在线播放一区二区 | 亚洲国产精品99久久久久久久久 | 一级电影院 | 欧美一级一区 | 色婷婷亚洲国产女人的天堂 | 成人免费在线看片 | 久久国产精品一区二区 | 日韩av在线播 | 欧美在线网站 | www.亚洲精品 | 成人精品一区二区三区中文字幕 | 日韩激情在线观看 | 国产精品久久久久久久久久妞妞 | 欧美日韩91| 视频在线亚洲 | 羞羞视频免费观看 | 天天夜夜操 | 亚洲一区二区三区四区在线 | 久久青青 | 婷婷色视频 | 狠狠色狠狠色综合网 | 亚洲成人av一区二区三区 | 欧美日韩久久精品 | 欧美二区精品 | 亚洲精品乱码久久观看网 | 一区二区三区日韩 | 999精品视频 | 久久成人免费视频 | 久久伊人精品视频 | 日韩在线中文字幕 | 日韩免费视频 | 精品国产第一国产综合精品 | 污网站在线观看视频 | 日韩二区三区 | 一区二区日韩 | 97精品在线视频 | 羞羞视频网站免费看 | 一区二区三区四区在线 | 亚洲国产精品成人综合色在线婷婷 | 日韩专区在线播放 | 成人亚洲视频 |